Rethinking Economic Progress: Beyond GDP to Enhance Democracy and Accountability
GDP is a flawed metric for measuring economic progress, as it overlooks income distribution, environmental sustainability, and social equity. While growth is often perceived as synonymous with improved living standards, the reality shows stagnant wages and increasing income inequality. Instead of relying solely on GDP, we should adopt a multi-dimensional approach that includes indicators like income inequality, living standards, social protection, environmental health, and democratic engagement. This shift can help rebuild trust in governance and ensure economic growth translates into tangible benefits for all.
Rethinking Economic Progress: Beyond GDP to Enhance Democracy and Accountability
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Presentation Transcript
Democracies for People:Governmentaccountabilityby movingbeyond GDP
GDP: an incomplete measure of economic progress • Does not capture how growth is distributed • Assumes growth translates to higher living standards…. often not the case • Neglects environmental sustainability • Presents a gender-biased understanding of production
GDP growth has not been shared with workers Evolution of the labour income share Source: IMF (2017)
Top earners are capturing global income The rise in the top 1% versus the stagnation of the global bottom 50%, 1980-2016 Source: World Inequality Report (2018)
Rapid global growth is not translating into improved livelihoods and well-being Global GDP (current USD, in trillions) and % of the global population undernourished (2000-2018) Source: ITUC calculations based on World Bank data (GDP) and FAO data (undernourishment). Note: 2018 undernourishment data are FAO projections.
Growth is not translating into greater economic security Percentage of the world’s population covered by social protection Source: ILO World Social Protection Report 2017-2019
Possible indicators to inform policy and regain trust • Economy: e.g., income inequality levels, net job growth/full employment, gender inequality in the labour market (in addition to GDP/GDP per capita) • Living Standards: e.g., cost of living, average wages, wage growth, minimum wages, national poverty benchmarks • Tax, social protection and public services: e.g., progressivity of tax; social protection coverage; access to health, education and care services • Environment: e.g., progress towards net zero emissions, agreed just transition measures, pollution levels, workplace health and safety • Democratic rights and freedoms: e.g., human rights, labour rights, workplace democracy • Engagement of People: e.g., policy consultation, voting rights, tripartite institutions and processes, anticorruption measures